Collapsible and folding seats



1956 T. A. CALABRESE COLLAPSIBLE AND FOLDING SEATS Filed Sept. 28, 1954I N VE N TOR 7770mw/4 Co/afirase United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE ANDFOLDING SEATS Thomas A. Calabrese, Cambridge, Mass.

Application September 28, 1954, Serial No. 458,866

2 Claims. (Cl. 155-150) This invention relates to folding seats.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a collapsible andfolding seat which is of increased simplicity and compactness whenfolded for convenient portability.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a collapsibleand folding seat which, when not in use, may be easily and readilydisassembled and carried in a convenient packet.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a collapsible and foldingseat bearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction,inexpensive to manufacture, has a minimum number of parts, is easy touse and eflicient in operation.

For other objects and a better understanding of the invention, referencemay be had to the following detailed description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention shown in operative use;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof taken along the line 22 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a packet containing the disassembledparts of the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, longitudinal sectional view taken along theline 44 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, represents a length ofhollow, cylindrical tubing of aluminum, steel or other suitablematerial, open at both ends, and provided near each end with a pair ofradially spaced openings 11 having extensions 12 (Fig. 4) for a purposewhich will hereinafter become clear. Four elongated rods 13 of aluminum,steel or other suitable material are adapted to pass through theopenings 11 on the undersurface of the tubing 10, the upper surface ofthe tubing 10 being provided with the openings 14 aligned lineally withone of the openings 11 and through which passes upwardly the upper endsof the rods 13, as shown in Fig. 1. In order to retain the rods 13within the tubing 10 in the arrangement of Fig. 1, each of the rods isintegrally formed with a pair of oppositely disposed lugs 15 (Fig. 4)adapted to abut the undersurface of tubing 10 whereby to limit theupward displacement of the rods 13 therethrough. In order to preventdownward displacement of the rods through the openings in tubing 10,each of the rods 13 above the oppositely disposed lugs 15 is integrallyformed with a lug 16 disposed at right angles to the lugs 15 and whichengages the inner surface of the tubing 10. To mount the rods within thetubing, the latter are passed upwardly through the openings 11 with thelugs 16 thereof aligned with the extensions 12 (Fig.

, 2,736,366 Patented Feb. 28, 1956 4) until the lugs 15 abut theundersurface of the tubing 10 whereupon the rods are rotated throughdegrees to bring the lugs 16 out of alignment with the extension 12 andinto abutment with the inner surface of the tubing.

A pair of elongated rods 17 are each provided near each end withopenings into which fit the upper ends of the rods 13 (Fig. 1), the rods17 being connected by the flexible canvas seat portion 18, the oppositeends of the canvas 18 being wrapped around the rods 17 and suitablysecured thereto.

Rubber feet 19 are press fitted onto the lower ends of the rods 13.

In order to collapse or fold the seat, the rods 17 are first removedupwardly from the upper ends of the rods 13, whereupon the rods 13 arethen removed from tubing 10 by rotating the same through 180 degreesuntil the retaining lugs 16 are in alignment with the extensions 12 andpass downwardly therethrough, permitting the complete removal of therods 13. The rods 13 and 17 are then brought together and placed withinthe tubing 10,

which assembly may then be placed within a packet 20, having a cover 21(Fig. 3) for easy and ready portability and storage. The cover 21 willbe secured to the packet 20 by means of the complementary snap fasteningelements 22.

It will be readily apparent that the lugs 15, 16 will re tain the rods13 within the tubing 10 and will prevent the seat from swaying.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shallbe understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

l. A folding seat comprising a hollow central portion open at both ends,said central portion at each end on the undersurface thereof having apair of openings having extensions, said central portion on the uppersurface thereof at each end having a pair of openings aligned lineallywith each of said openings having said extensions, an elongated rodslidable through each of said lineally aligned openings, releasablemeans for retaining said rods in fixed position within said lineallyaligned openings, flexible seat means secured to the upper ends of saidlegs, and resilient support means at the lower ends of each of saidlegs.

2. A folding chair according to claim 1, said releasable means forsecuring said legs within said central portion lineally aligned openingscomprising oppositely disposed lugs carried by each of said rods andadapted to abut the undersurface of said central portion, a secondlongitudinally spaced lug above said oppositely disposed lugs, saidlongitudinally spaced lug being adapted to pass through said extensionsand to abut the inner surface of said central portion upon being rotatedabout flie longitudinal axis of said legs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,189,174 Pheeney et al. June 27, 1916 2,225,114 Hoskins Dec. 17, 1940FOREIGN PATENTS 281,921 Great Britain Dec. 15, 1927

